Introduction to Fire Safety Management

Safety culture
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4.9
Human failure
Human beings are prone to fail due to limitations in per-
ception of risk and their ability to interpret and act on 
information. There is a variety of ways in which human 
failure may manifest itself in the workplace. On some 
occasions people may omit owning up to something 
they should have done, or taking an inappropriate course 
of action. These failures occur very often for complex 
reasons that involve individual perceptions, motivation, 
job design and organisational factors.
There are two broad types of human failure – ‘errors’, 
where the failure to follow safety rules are made uncon-
sciously, and ‘violations’, where there is a deliberate 
failure to comply.
4.9.1 Human 
errors
Human errors are occasioned by lapses of attention or 
mistakes
➤
Lapses of attention
– although the intentions and 
objectives of the individual are correct they make 
an error in performing a task, perhaps due to com-
peting demands for their attention. People at work, 
particularly in jobs that are routine and/or pressured, 
may either forget to follow a particular safety rule or 
even forget that there is a rule to follow
➤
Mistaken acts/omissions
– there are two distinct 
types of mistakes that are made in the workplace. 
The fi rst type is where the individual knows the rules 
but applies the wrong rule to a situation. These 
types of errors are caused when a person incorrectly 
interprets information based upon their expectation 
of what should happen. The other type of mistake 
can be made as a result of a lack of knowledge, 
skills or experience of the individual which leads to 
the individual either not taking an action they should 
take or taking an inappropriate course of action.